From The First Chapter
by Pixies Between The Pages
Summary: In another world, they were there from the beginning. And somehow, that made all the difference. /Fairy Tail AU. What if Wendy and Lucy had been there from the beginning? Some Nalu, hints of other ships./


**I got a request on tumblr for "If Wendy or Lucy joined the guild in year x778.**

BTW: From the wiki, this is what happened in that year: Mirajane, Elfman, and Lisanna parents die and they join Fairy Shagotte sends unborn Exceeds from Edolas to Earth is born from an egg hatched by Natsu Dragneel and is born from an egg hatched by Wendy Dreyar becomes an S-Class Mage.

Title: From The First Chapter

Fandom: Fairy Tail

Summary: In another world, they were there from the beginning. And somehow, that made all the difference.

* * *

In another world, she snapped much sooner. She was only eleven, and only a year had passed since her mother had died, snatched away by illness. But she couldn't take it anymore, and she just had to leave. She was too young to be this sad, but the world was what it was.

Her father stayed holed away in his study most of the time, but when he came out, he always mad. It was hard to believe he was the same man who had loved her mother, and maybe once upon a time, her. He would yell at her constantly. Either she wasn't learning her studies fast enough, or daydreaming too much. It was this or that, but always something. It was usually just words, but once or twice he hit her, and she cried stinging tears.

Her mother's keys were kept in her room, locked away in a wooden chest. Lucy hasn't seen the spirits in what seemed like forever. But she remembers. She remembers Scorpio, and Aquarius, and the funny goat man, Capricorn. She remembers the pretty blonde lady who used to sing her to sleep and play on her lyre.

Aquarius was her favourite, which was strange, because she was the one who yelled the most. Still, Lucy liked her. She remembers how her mother used to summon her just to talk and laugh. Aquarius would tell tales of other wizards, old masters, _guilds_.

That's where Lucy was going. A guild.

She wasn't sure which one, but it didn't matter. As long as it was far, far away, and the people there were nice. There would be a kind man there who would be like the father she always dreamed of. Maybe her mother would be there too. Yes, she would. She was sure of it.

* * *

Wendy is six years old and part of Cait Shelter, the guild she loves with all her heart. The people there are nice, and they care for her genuinely, she knows it. The master watches her with a protective, kind eye.

The loss of her mother, Grandine, still hurts, but she's dealing with it. She's young, but sensible and old enough to know that the dragon isn't coming back. She cries sometimes, and it feels like her heart has scrape, just like her knees gets sometimes. But then Carla will scoff and remind her that big girls don't cry.

Carla is one of the best things to ever happen to her. She still looks like a kitten, only a few months old, but she already has that strict, kindly expression molded onto her face. She's Wendy's guardian, protector, and friend. Sometimes it feels like she's all Wendy has to hold on to.

Especially after the day the Master called her to talk to him.

"Wendy," He beams at her from his cushion, speaking around a mouthful of fruit. "Come, child, would you like a drink?"

The little bluenette giggles while the cat Exceed on her shoulder tuts disapprovingly. "Master Roubau you're not supposed to eat with your mouth open!"

"Oh, well," He shrugs. "Never mind. Come, sit." She obliges, tumbling ungracefully onto the cushion in front of him. "Now, I have something to tell you, and you may not handle it that well."

Wendy felt herself grow uncertain as his cheerful face melted into brooding. "Y-Yes, Master?"

Wendy's eyes grow warm with tears and her vision swims as the master explains everything. She knows now why she wasn't supposed to touch anyone without permission first. She knows now why there are no other guilds around. Once again everything she thought she knew is being blown away into the wind.

"B-But, guild master, it c-can't be true." She's gasping for breath between her sobs, and she can feel Carla's body shaking with emotion as well.

"I'm afraid so, my child." Roubau watches her seriously. "I am sorry, so very sorry, but you needed a family."

"And now you're taking it away!" She practically screams, her voice fading into a wail at the end.

He looks like he wants to hug her, but he doesn't, and she's glad. He would feel like nothing, like air, and she wouldn't have anything to hold on to.

"Wendy, if I prolonged this, it would only hurt more later." He reasons, not unkindly. "You have Carla now. It is time for you to find a new family."

"I don't want to find a new one! Not again!" Her face is streaming with tears,and it feels like the sun will never rise again.

"But you will, Wendy, you will." He presses on. "Now come, it is time to say goodbye."

* * *

Lucy plans the whole thing out to the minute. Rather impressive for an eleven year old. She knows what hallways to avoid in order not to be caught. She knows how she's going to break open the box the keys are kept in. She knows how she's going to leave.

She's going to run, and she's not going to look back.

Every second is nerve racking, every audible footstep makes her want to go back and give up. Once she thought she heard her father coming out of his study, but it was just the house keeper. Eventually, she makes it to her mother's room.

It's undisturbed. Exactly as it was. The curtains are closed, but a ray of light struggles it's way in through a crack, and dust motes swim in the air. Her breath is caught in her throat, and she almost can't go on, but if she waits anymore, the whole plan is moot.

She tiptoes her way to the bed, and carefully, _carefully, _slides the box out. She doesn't want to destroy it, she really doesn't. It would be like destroying a part of her mother. But it's now or never, and she can't stay in this stifling house anymore.

She reaches for the stone she slipped into her pocket during her outside break last week. She raises it up and brings it down hard onto the wood. It cracks and she gasps and sobs. It's done now, and she grabs the keys hurriedly.

The sounds alerts the house staff and she can hear them running towards the door. It's time to go now, no time for goodbyes. She throws the curtains open and sprints out onto the balcony, leaping off of it and into the garden. She scrapes her knee on the landing, but it doesn't matter. She grabs the bag she stowed in the lilac bush and runs.

She runs and runs and doesn't look back.

She feels a grin spreading across her face. She's free. She's free for the first time in her entire life.

* * *

The goodbye is so painful it physically hurts. Wendy has a bag with her and it feels like when she was travelling with Jellal again. There's only one difference. Carla's perched on her shoulder, and Wendy is grabbing onto her like she's her last life support.

"We'll miss you two." The entire guild has gathered and Roubaul is standing in front of them, beaming sadly. "But…Wendy, Carla, you no longer need a foster family. Your future… Has only just begun."

With these final words everyone starts to fade away, melting into the air, finally resting. Wendy can't watch and turns around, her chest heaving with silent weeping.

She starts running and feels like she can't leave fast enough. The wind is tearing at her hair, but it feels good, because the tears are being blown away. The burning in her legs is the best feeling she's felt in a long time, and in spite of herself, she's smiling.

It feels like she's tearing herself away from something. Maybe this was a good thing, because there was an even better thing ahead.

* * *

Lucy stumbles upon Magnolia by chance. She'd been wandering around, using the funds that came from being part of a millionaire family for trains. She was getting tired, because it had been weeks, and she still hasn't found a guild.

Then she finds Magnolia. The pretty town with flowers in ever windowsill and the cute paved streets, and that gorgeous canal. She feels her breath fly away and then _it _sells the deal.

The guild building.

She asks about it, and the locals cheerfully tell her that it was Fairy Tail, the best, and most destructive, guild around. Lucy is fairly certain her eyes had literally lit up because the people had laugh and ruffle her hair.

She almost literally flies up the hill, maybe stumbling once or twice, but feeling like she is floating on air. Finally, a family. Her mother would be there, and she give her the keys back. There would be a nice man there would be like her father. Lots of children who would be super nice and think she was pretty.

She doesn't think before pushing the doors open, and her eyes widen as she takes in the sight.

A red headed girl in armor is on the floor wrestling with a white haired girl in a tank top. Nearby a pink haired kid is screaming at the top of his lungs with a black haired boy with no shirt. A cute white haired girl with blue eyes watches and giggles, occasionally petting the blue cat that was resting on the counter. A lumbering boy with the same starting pale hair was watching nervously with a bird on his shoulder.

A brunette girl with serious purple eyes is playing cards with a blonde teenager with headphones. Or at least she is trying. He keeps brushing her off to talk to an old man with a strange hat. Three others are also trying to get his attention however. A young boy with long green hair, a strange kid with a face tattoo, and a girl with glasses and a devious look. Evidently he gets frustrated with the pestering and storms off.

A tiny bluenette is reading at one of the tables while two boys hover nearby. One has carroty red hair, and the other's head resembles a fish tail. The red haired boy notices the other one staring at the girl and says something inaudible. The other boy glares and soon they are fighting loudly. The girl keeps reading.

A grin spreads across Lucy's face. It was perfect.

* * *

It took longer for Wendy to get there. She was still just a little kid, clumsy on her two stubby legs. She had no money, and was relying off of charity. She was so exhausted by the time she found Magnolia, so ready to give up.

But the town itself changed that completely. It was like a dream. She'd never seen a place this pretty.

It wasn't the smiles the people sent her that gave her hope though. It was the sky. For the first time since she had started travelling, the sky was blue. Impeccably blue with not a single cloud. It was beautiful, and the air was fresh and cool, and she felt like she could start again.

The guild hall is mercifully quieter then it was when Lucy came in a few weeks it was louder, Wendy may have run out crying, no matter how disgraceful that would be to Carla. Most of the children are out in the back, playing. Only a few adults are sitting by the bar, and the brunette girl with purple eyes is sitting with them, soberly shuffling a deck of cards.

"Why aren't you out back, playing with the others, kid?" A young man with a pipe asks.

"They're too loud." The girl doesn't look up. "Gray keeps losing his clothes."

A dark haired man burst out laughing. "You're older then any of us Cana. You don't have to act so mature, yeah?"

Before the exchange could continue, an aging old man from behind the counter notices the child in the doorway. He jumps out and walks toward her with his hand outstretched.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail, young one! Who might you be?" His smile is so like old Master Roubaul's that her throat closes up. She only talked when Carla nudged her shoulder.

"I-I'm Wendy Marvell, and t-this is Carla."

Cana, the girl with the cards walks towards them with a serious smile on her face. "Hello Wendy! I'm Cana Alberona, and I think you're going to like it here."

* * *

The guild welcomes the two of them with open arms. The two lost girls feel like they have a home again. They make friends fast, even if there are hitches in the road.

Lucy asks Master Makarov about her mother. He says while he had known her, she had never been a member, and certainly wasn't here. She was forced to finally come to terms with the fact that her mother was dead. It's hard and she spends many days sitting alone. She comes out of it eventually though.

Wendy is still a shy girl, and her shell is hard to break. At first she feels like crying everytime Gray and Natsu fight. She gets used to it though, and she has Carla and Cana to help her.

Lucy is fast friends with Levy, Cana, Erza, Lisanna, and Wendy. Evergreen and Mira are the only ones her charm doesn't work on.

She and Levy quickly bonded over their love of books, and Levy took to calling her 'Lu-chan'. It wasn't long before they were declaring they were 'best friends forever and ever!'.

Lucy seemed to be the only Cana acted like a kid around. The brunette loved teasing the blonde, and was known to smirk constantly whenever Lucy talked to a male. Lucy was the first one that Cana told about her father, and the first one to see her cry.

Erza took Lucy under her wing, saying she was her, "little sister now". Erza wasn't as serious around the charming blonde girl. Lucy enjoyed making remarks about a certain ice make wizard that Erza had a crush on. This made Erza blush horribly, which was very adorable.

Wendy was like a little sister to most in the guild, but Lucy felt an even bigger connection to her. Maybe it was because they had arrived at roughly the same time. Maybe it was because Wendy looked so fragile -_just like a doll Lucy used to have_-. Either way, Lucy was fiercely protective of her.

Maybe her most meaningful friendship of all was the one she had with Lisanna. The kinship she felt with the cheerful take over mage was something she treasured deeply. They could almost finish each other's sentences, and Lucy knew this was what having a sister was truly like.

Of course, she was friends with the boys too. Mostly Natsu and Gray, but she liked Freed and Bixlow as well. Laxus was too cold for her to interact with though.

She loved Natsu the way that little girls love little boys. She never considered it a crush. That word wasn't strong enough. Romantic love didn't cover it. He was her family. She came here hoping for a father figure. Instead she got him. But that was fine. He was the only one she would ever trust with her life. He was annoying, and irritating, and cheerful, and destructive, and _perfect_.

* * *

"How you doing?" She was numb.

Lisanna was gone. Lis, Lisa, perfect, amazing, kind Lisanna was gone. Her best friend. Mirajane and Elfman's sister. Mira's lifeline. The guild's happiness.

"Lu-chan," Levy sighed, rubbing her own tear stained cheek.

"I'm going to Natsu's place." Lucy stood up suddenly and walked out of the guild, not seeing, not hearing.

Natsu was the only one who understood. Or rather, the only one who would talk to her about it. The other Strauss siblings were silent as the night. Natsu was the only one who would cry with her and really know why she was crying.

She needed him now more then ever.

She couldn't find him at the dirty apartment he called a house. So, she tried for the hill where he spent most of his time nowadays.

He was there. He sun was setting and he was looking at it blankly. Happy was hovering at his side and there were flowers at the small grave. Lucy smiled at the straw hut that had stayed standing after all these years.

"I'm not going to be able to find her this time." His voice was hollow, and he didn't turn around.

A tear leaked down Lucy's cheek and she stifled a sob. She knew the two had a history. She appreciated it, and didn't resent it. She could only imagine how much Natsu must be hurting.

She turned around and left.

* * *

Lucy sat at the guild piano with Levy by her side. The bluenette was silent, as was the blonde. Lucy was finally talking again, and she asked the script mage to meet her here once everyone was gone.

"Levy, you're a great piano player, you know that?" Lucy said finally.

Levy looked over startled. "O-Oh, thank you Lu-chan-"

"Can you play this for me?" Lucy cut her off, putting a sheet of music on the stand. "I'll sing."

"Oh, um, okay." Levy hesitantly fingered out the first chords. "Alright, I think I can try it."

There a few stumbles in the intro, and it wasn't quite smooth, but Lucy didn't care. She started singing, her voice quiet, and high, haunting and clear. "_I remember tears streaming down your face when I said I'd never let you go. When all those shadows almost killed your light." _

They got halfway through the first verse before Lucy couldn't go on. She was crying, and so was Levy, her tears splashing on the ivory keys. The two girls leaned on each other, finally, properly mourning the death of Lisanna Strauss.

* * *

She finally had him cornered. Loke glanced nervously at the door. This wasn't something he wanted to happen. Ever. He had been nervous ever since he had joined the guild and noticed _her._

_"_Ah, hey Lucy. Wendy." He nodded in their direction, fixing his glasses.

Lucy's stare was unusually serious. "I'm surprised it took me this long."

He gulped. "What took you so-?"

"I told Wendy." The corner of her mouth twitched upwards. "She almost didn't believe me. But I asked the other spirits about it, and while they were all serious, I could tell I was right."

Lucy had become an amazing celestial mage in the last few years. She had gained many new keys, silver and gold. But never, as Loke noticed, never _her. _Lucy never gained_ her _key. Still, she could summon a Zodiac and a silver spirit at the same time, a remarkable feat for a 15 year old.

Wendy was now 10 years old, and progressing amazingly. Natsu was eager to teach her, and while he was bit too enthusiastic, he was a generally good teacher. She couldn't help but notice that Porlyusica, the resident healer, was adamant not to tutor her.

He supposed with how smart they were, it was only a matter of time.

"Loke," Lucy sighed. "I won't spill your secret, but stop hiding. You don't have that long." She walked forward and grabbed his arm. He looked at her surprised. "You're my friend, and I won't watch you fade." She shook her head with a smile. "Life is short! Hasn't Lisanna taught you that? Stop waiting. I'm going to appeal to the king for you…Leo."

He lurched at his old name, and grabbed her shoulder as they started to walk away. "Wait, no! Lucy, don't. Please don't talk to the other spirits for me."

She looked at him with her bright brown eyes. "I can't make you." She didn't look surprised. "I knew you would say no. But when the time comes, I won't stand by."

Then the two did walk away. Wendy flashed him a grin and a peace sign over her shoulder. He shook his head, amazed.

* * *

Two years later, when he did start to fade, she amazed him again. She summoned all of her spirits, and demanded an audience with the king. She tipped the laws of the universe, and he wouldn't stop being in debt to her. Ever. Especially as she gave him the chance to see Aries again.

* * *

Adventures were had. They went to Edolas. They came back. Their best friend came back from the dead and they were walking on clouds. They gave Erza her childhood back, and helped her mourn Simon. They fought dark guilds. Lucy gained new keys. They shed tears and smiled.

Tenrou was a hit for all of them. Lucy hated that she missed her father's death. She wanted to be there with him. She regretted that he wasted away. It was a hard time for her, like losing her mother, or Lisanna all over again.

On the other hand, Wendy noticed that a certain boy she used to babysit was now her age, and had a very nice smile. Soon enough the whole guild was calling her Juliette. Meanwhile, there was Chelia, her new friend, who was confusing but amazing.

Their guild wasn't the best anymore. But to them, it always would be. And they would make their way back, anyone else be damned.

* * *

"I'm E.N.D, Luce." Tears streamed down the slayer's face. "I'm a monster."

"No, you're not." She was almost yelled. "You're my best friend! You're Lis's best friend, and Gray's too! You're Juvia's friend, and Happy's! You owe Gajeel that song!" She shook her head furiously. "Don't do this Natsu, you can stop it!"

"Igneel's gone, Luce." His voice was cracking. "I saw him fall."

"Natsu, Natsu, come back to me. It'll be fine. We'll have more adventures!" She was running towards him.

He turned away. "Lucy, I could kill you. You have to get away."

"I'm not losing anyone else!" Before either of them knew what was happening, she had tugged him around and threw her arms around his shoulders, kissing him.

The horns sunk back into his head, and he opened his eyes with a smile. "Luce-" He stopped when he saw her eyes.

They were fading, but she was smiling. She shook her head and he saw the knife in her back. The knife in his own hand.

"Wait, I-I, didn't, Lucy-" He couldn't believe it. He couldn't have killed his angel.

Tears were gathering in her eyes but she said, "Shh, it'll be alright Natsu."

* * *

_Somehow her being there from the beginning made all the difference._


End file.
